napa-
indicates accidental or unintentional action
Usage Note
Napa- is a verb prefix attached to roots to form completed-aspect verbs expressing involuntary or unintended actions — the actor could not help doing it. It appears in common words like napatawa and napangiti and is very frequent in casual conversation.
Examples
" Napatayo ako sa gulat. "
Natural Translation
I suddenly stood up in surprise.
Literal Translation
Suddenly-stood I in surprise.
" Napalingon ako sa ingay. "
Natural Translation
I suddenly turned to look at the noise.
Literal Translation
Suddenly-turned-to-look I at noise.
" Napatawa kaming lahat nang biglang madapa ang aso habang naghahabol ng pusa sa bakuran. "
Natural Translation
We all burst out laughing when the dog suddenly tripped while chasing a cat in the yard.
Literal Translation
Burst-laughing we all when suddenly tripped the dog while chasing of cat in yard.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
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